Wedding night; Birthday poem

Right before Christmas I threw my dog, my guitar, and a change of clothes into the back of my car and headed off on a solo road trip. Having made a solemn promise to myself to switch off my phone and avoid all contact with my real life during my ten days away, I thought it would probably be a good idea to set up an out-of-office auto reply for my email, because that is the kind of professional woman I am. I patiently explained to anyone who had bothered to get in touch with me that I had taken myself off on a vision quest, and I would be unable to attend to their correspondence until I had returned from this important journey - preferably after having discovered my spirit animal.